Crossover athletes help start-up volleyball teams

Dave Johnson, djohnson@dailypress.com | 247-4649

HAMPTON — His friends razzed him about it, which he pretty much expected. Volleyball has been an official varsity sport in Hampton City Schools for only four months, and it'll take a bit longer to catch on.

Still, Khalil Paige is glad he tried something new for his senior year at Bethel High. Until now, volleyball had been confined to an occasional gym class. Now, he's among 10 members of the Bruins' start-up boys team.

"I just thought it was something different," said Paige, whose main sport is track. "I wasn't too good at cross country last year, so I wanted to play another sport. I decided volleyball because I'm tall.

"I had never played before, but I'm starting to love it — especially when we practice with the girls. It's a pretty fun sport."

Hampton schools approved adding boys and girls volleyball as varsity sports in April, which gave programs little time to get started. Coaches had to be hired and, most important, word had to get out.

Next month, Bethel, Kecoughtan, Phoebus and Hampton will begin play in the Peninsula District. They will join the five Newport News schools and Gloucester to complete a 10-team district.

It was a quick turnaround.

"Since it was (approved) in April, at the end of the school year there was no communication letting them know volleyball was about to start," Bethel boys coach Lindsey Bomba-Holcomb said. "Basically, it was an email and word of mouth how we got the kids out here."

When Bethel began practice Aug. 1, Bomba-Holcomb had two players: seniors Jeffrey Wiseman and Connor Henderson. Wiseman is a soccer player; Henderson a pitcher/shortstop for the baseball team. But the team has expanded with the addition of athletes like Paige, Muad Saif (soccer) and Dashawn Barton (basketball).

"It's actually pretty nice because there's not as much stress and pressure as baseball," Henderson said. "There's a lot of pressure there."

Henderson and Wiseman were voted team captains. Wiseman is the only player with some volleyball experience.

"I played beach volleyball with some friends," he said. "Most people know what they're doing. We just have to get better at it."

Bomba-Holcomb, who played at Poquoson High and is now an educational interpreter at Woodside, believes her players' athleticism has helped the learning process.

"They have different skills to bring," she said. "The soccer players are strong on defense because their legs are strong and they're able to play the ball. Baseball players have good swings, basketball players have good blocks. They all have something different to bring to the table."

Kecoughtan scored something of a coup by hiring former Christopher Newport assistant Gail Clinch as its girls coach. The Captains finished 38-3 last year and are ranked fifth in the coaches' pre-season poll.

Though Cinch is used to coaching better talent, she's eager to work with beginners.

"This is more my passion," said Clinch, who played at Catonsville (Md.) Community College. "I enjoy teaching it. I enjoy being more hands on with my teaching."

Clinch said Hampton's decision to make volleyball a varsity sport was long overdue.

"I've played beach volleyball year-round for over 30 years," she said. "It's a lifetime sport. This is something Hampton has been missing."

Numbers-wise, the turnout has been better for girls than boys. Phoebus athletic director Deonna Brown said her school has 30 players on the girls team and eight or nine on the boys.

Hampton is also struggling to field a boys team. In fact, the Crabbers are still looking for a boys coach. For now, girls coach Jamie Aldridge is also working with the four or five boys players who have come out.

"We're hoping with word of mouth, when school starts we'll get more guys out there," Hampton AD Phil Melillo said. "Part of the problem is that (boys) have never been exposed to it."

Also not helping is the new VHSL rule that allows year-round practice in all sports. So much for getting a basketball or baseball player who wants something to do in the fall.

"That's been an issue," Melillo said. "Coaches want their players around them as much as possible, and that's a good thing. But there's always going to be conflicts sometimes."